The Formation and Social Function of Popular Film Genres: A Ritualist View

Abstract

This paper explains the form and social function of Hollywood genres according to the Ritual School of film theory. Ritualists contend that popular genres center upon currently-irreconcilable cultural contradictions or sources of anxiety. A genre’s physical conventions provide a lexicon of symbols and metaphors to continually explore such issues. This social element of genre is most evident in new genres formed during periods of drastic social change. To illustrate, this paper refers to the classic Western, the 1950s Sci-fi film, and the post-9/11 Superhero genre.